String Cheese
by Mrpointyhorns
Summary: AU I messed with the timeline. Jimmie schemes up a competition using string cheese, and Ryan becomes less invisible.


Title: String Cheese

Author: Mrpointyhorns

Author's Email:

Rating: G

Status: Unsure

Summary: Jimmie and some of the other wildcats think of a way to earn the team some more money. And Ryan isn't invisible anymore. A little AU.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"Bolton, can I ask you a question?" Sharpay Evans approached him in the hall. She wore a pink skirt with a matching purse and shoes. She was the most popular girl in school, even if most would never admit to liking her. She held herself above everyone else, excluded people, and she had never talked to Troy before. She never talked to any athletes, at least none of that played on team sports.

Troy shut his locker and turned to face her. He maybe as confused as he should be about Sharpay's sudden interest but as long as he wasn't angry then he had no reason to be anything but polite. "Of course."

"What are the most points that you have scored in a game?" Sharpay held a pink binder in her arms. Her fingers slid along the spine as she spoke.

"87. I'm hoping to get a hundred by the time I graduate."

"Yeah? I don't care about that." Sharpay switched her binder to her left hand and flicked her hair behind her shoulder. "Who was the first person you kissed?"

"I'm not answering that! Is that what you wanted to ask in the first place?"

"Why would I ask you a question that I didn't want an answer too? I need to know who your first kiss was with." Sharpay put one hand on her hip, cocking it in one direction. She tapped her foot on the ground. "Can you please hurry?"

"What is this about?"

"It's a competition, Bolton. You buy these cheese sticks." Sharpay handed Troy a half eaten stick of mozzarella stringed-cheese. It was custom wrapped in wax paper with a Wildcats label on it. "And the person to answer the most trivia about you wins."

"Wins what?"

"Look I don't have time to answer all of your questions. I have a massage at ten thirty that I'm supposed to be skipping class for. So will you just tell me who your first kiss was with?"

"I'm not sure."

"How can you not be sure who your first kiss was with? You haven't kissed that many people have you?"

"I'm not sure if it counts."

"It counts. Now who was it?"

"Mark Shoemaker, in the 6th grade."

"You can stop I don't need a life story. I just need more cheese sticks. Toddles." Sharpay pushed past him and didn't even turn back. She didn't even blink at his answer, didn't even question it.

Troy walked away from his locker, towards his third period class. He was confused about why he had answered the second question at all. But he was even more worried about the sticks of cheese floating around the school with questions relating to him.

He looked at the stick of cheese in his hand when he sat down in his usual seat in the Physics lab. He turned it over searching for any clues as to who was behind this. He asked Chad and Jason if they knew anything when they sat down.

"Its cheese, Troy," Chad answered.

"I think Jimmie and some of the other players were selling them. Remember Coach said we needed to earn some money since the school board is thinking about making cuts in the athletic and arts programs." Jason started to fiddle with one of the breakers in front of him.

"I thought we were going to do a carwash."

"We still are. But this is actually better Troy! Zeke's making the cheese for free! And they're selling the sticks for a dollar fifty, because of the prize."

"What prize?"

The bell rang and Mrs. Peters teacher came into the room promptly. "Remember the personality quizzes that I had you take last week?" The class murmured their agreement. "Well I used the results to pick lab partners. You will be paired with partners that will most benefit your group. Taylor you're paired with Chad. Jason and Andy. Troy you're with Ryan."

The teacher continued on pairing up the class by her personality results. Troy looked across the room the table in the back near the window. He had been in school with Ryan since kindergarten and it didn't matter how invisible Ryan sometimes was after ten years Troy knew who he was.

When the teacher gave them permission, Troy stood and moved over to Ryan's table. He put his books down in the sun, and sat down next to him. He was happy to have Ryan as a partner. He was a good person. He had once gone out of his way to bring Troy chicken soup when he was home sick with the flu for a week. He hadn't stayed but his mother said he was very polite. If Troy had to be paired with someone other then his friends then he was glad it was with Ryan.

Troy's thought were interrupted when the girls in front of him passed him a note. He opened it up. Inside was a list of seven questions, like: what is your favorite food? How many freckles do you have on the back of your neck? Who is your favorite actor? At what age did you stop peeing his pants when he was nervous?

He started at the questions stunned. How did Jimmie even know the answer to some of these! And why were people so obsessed with him. What was this prize everyone wanted?

Ryan leaned forward picked up Troy's pen and filled out the answers, short and precise. Troy's mouth got dry and he tried to think of something to stay, but he couldn't. Even Chad wouldn't be able to answer all of those questions; he didn't stare at the back of his neck for one. Ryan leaned back in his seat. He picked up the piece of paper and torn it in half, fourths, eighths and put the scraps in the garbage on the other side of the room. When he returned Troy still had nothing to say, so he didn't.

The teacher told them that they were going to build model bridges with only the given balsamic wood that they could cut up and put back together in order to create the strongest bridges. The bridges would be tested the day the project was due in four weeks. In two they had to show in detail the math they did in order to plan out their bridge then they would get their wood to start building.

"I'm not very good at math." Ryan turned to Troy when their teacher gave them time to start brainstorming. "I got a C on the last test. And that's all the theory that we're supposed to be applying now right?"

"I think so. I'm not very good at it either. But I meet with Mrs. Peters anytime I feel like I'm struggling. I would be happy with getting Cs but my Dad says I need to earn it." Troy shrugged slightly.

"You can't get away with much when you're Dad works here, huh?" Ryan smiled.

"He's not that kind of parent. He wants the best from me, on and off the court, but mostly on." Troy returned the smile. He was still uneasy about Ryan's knowledge about him, but Ryan was so easy to get along with it was hard to hold it against him.

"My parents were easily convinced that grades are only making us conform to way society thinks. It stifles our natural creativity. And ruin our chance at truly making a career out of art."

"I thought your Dad was a big business man. I would think he would want you to take over. I thought he would want you to be hard working and smart."

"It isn't like he wants us to be stupid or anything, but I think he doesn't want us to have to work as hard as he had to. He wants us to go to college still, but he knows he can donate money to any school and get us in if he has to. Sharpay takes advantage of it because she'd rather be shopping then studying."

"And you don't?"

"When you have natural creativity talent, Troy, it can't be stifled. It will start of as a flicker inside of you but will burn brighter and hot until there isn't anything that can be done then to let it out. You are that way too, Troy."

"I have never let it out." Troy looked down at the table. He was ashamed to admit that, when in most cases he was ashamed of people finding out about it. There was no arguing with Ryan, however he knew.

"You will soon." Ryan promised. He stood up, collected his bag from the floor. "We'll work on the calculations over the week and then we can bring it to Mrs. Peters next week."

"Wait what are you doing? Class isn't over yet." The bell rung, it was. Ryan was gone in less then a quarter of a second.

Troy grabbed his things and headed over to Jason and Chad. How could Ryan read him so easily? Chad and Jason would never even think of it, yet Ryan just knew. Ryan also knew all the answers to those personal questions, is that how Ryan could read him. He followed Chad and Jason into the hall without a word. He had his next class with Chad but Jason was on the other side of the school.

"I can't believe how rude Taylor is. She told me not to touch anything. That she would handle everything." Chad threw his hands up in the air, almost losing his books in the process.

"She probably just thinks you're and idiot." Jason laughed loudly before adding his punch line. "I do! I would be all over letting the smartest girl in school do my homework."

Chad used a pretend laughed and shoved Jason in the direction of his class. The Wildcat stumbled and nearly knocked over a few freshmen, but he did not fall over. He laughed even more and continued on down the hall.

"I wonder why Mrs. Peters thought that you would be compatible." Troy tilted his head. He asked himself as much as he did Chad.

"Probably because we're both strong willed." Chad shoulders relaxed and a smile crossed his face. "I know why you were paired with Ryan."

"Why's that?"

"You're both easy to get along with."

Troy wasn't sure if it was as simple as that. People didn't have to be alike to be compatible, but he knew that it was true, Ryan was easy to get on with, and Troy knew he was as well. He had been labeled so in many of year book.

"Troy, can I talk to you." Ms. Allen said. She was the student teacher in his English class. She called to him before he was through the door. Troy wave Chad to his seat and went to her desk.

"What's wrong Ms. Allen?" Ms. Allen was only twenty-one. She wore tight blouses and short skirts. Their normal English teacher Mr. Henderson would stare at her breast from the first row 'evaluating' her.

"Do you prefer boxers or briefs?" Mrs. Allen did not blush or flinch. She looked him right in the eye.

"What!" Troy took a step back. He knew a few guys that would be taking steps forward, but he had the no teacher and student relations drilled into his head since he was a baby. That stuff was only legal in certain states, New Mexico wasn't one of them. "I have to go Ms. Allen."

"Troy!" Ms. Allen called after him but he was already halfway down the hall.

He skidded to a halt in front of the boy's locker room and went inside. There was a class changing into their gym clothes, no one looked up as he walked passed them into his father's office.

"You're supposed to be in class son." Mr. Bolton stared at his clipboard, a pen hanging from the corner of his mouth. He looked up after a moment, frowned and up his clipboard down. "What happened?"

"I don't want to say." Troy blushed. He couldn't see how it had been that big on a deal. He was fifteen, a sophomore and she was only a few years older then him.

"Then you can go back to class." Mr. Bolton was firm on this. Troy knew he was playing a game with him. His father knew that he wouldn't tell if he was babied him or, ordered him to tell Troy would clam up. Troy needed to think that it was his decision to tell.

"Well," Troy rubbed the back of his neck. "Ms. Allen said something to me. It wasn't really bad or anything, but I know she's not supposed to." Mr. Bolton encouraged Troy to continue and so he explained to his father what happened.

"What!" Troy's father rose to his feet.

"Wait Dad, it's not that big of a deal! It was just a question."

"Troy it is a big deal. I know you're fifteen and you think anything that has to do with sex can't be wrong, but that's where you're wrong. Not only is she an adult but she's your teacher. She can use her position to exploit you." Mr. Bolton put his hands on Troy's shoulders. "And the question made you uncomfortable Troy, that's why you told me. That's what makes it wrong."

Troy stared at his father. He didn't think it was as wrong as he said it was. It was just a question if someone his age had asked it, he probably would have laughed uncomfortably and walked away, but he would still be uncomfortable from anyone at the school even his friends, sometimes especially his friends. His Dad squeezed his shoulders and hurried out of the room. Troy flinched when he heard the door to the locker room slam open. He hurried to follow after the class all asked him what was going on.

When he went out into the hall his father was already around the corner, the class was right behind him as he followed after.

"What do you think you were doing?" His father's voice was loud, it was always loud, but this was worse then a close game. Troy began to jog he turned the corner, his father and Ms. Allen were in the hall, alone.

"The question was on the cheese stick." Ms. Allen explained, she didn't deny the story at all. "You're team was selling it."

"What! You asked that sick question because of cheese?! Did you stop to think that could it was wrong!" His father's neck was red, and the vein in the side of his neck was bulging. He had never seen his father like that, he thought only cartoon fathers did that, but his Dad was mad. Classroom doors began opening through out the hall, and students started stumbling out, their teachers with them.

Ms. Allen leaned forward; she looked Troy's father in the eyes. She placed her hands behind her back. "Do you know the answer?"

Troy's father roared. He lunged forward, grabbed Ms. Allen's wrist and started dragging her down the hall. She screamed. It echoed down the halls, and bounced off ears. She put her heels to the ground and wristed. "Let me go! Let me go!" She cried and swatted his father's arm repeatedly.

The old coach turned around and put the young teacher over his shoulder. He began his trip down the hall, the teacher screaming the entire way to the principal's office. Troy was red from embarrassment. No one knew what was going on besides him but everyone knew that was his father.

After a few minutes the teachers tried to usher everyone back into class, but it was not going very well. Especially since two classes were short their teachers, Mr. Henderson usually came into class after about thirty minutes. Chad liked to joke that their teacher just couldn't last the entire school day without relieving himself sometime throughout the day.

"What's going on Troy?" Chad walked over to him. He was on his own but there were other students around that could and would listen. Chad understood his hesitation immediately, and he dragged Troy into the boy's restroom. He began checking the stalls and Troy began to explain to Chad what happened.

"I know it's stupid." Troy sat on the counter his elbows on his knees.

"Do you think I'm going to be mad at you?" He sat on the counter next to Troy.

"Yes. There aren't many guys that would turn down a chance at sleeping with a girl like her."

"Well you're not many guys Troy. I wouldn't answer her question either, but I wouldn't tell your dad."

There was a short knock on the door, before a student aide entered the room. He was a class over theirs and he took too much pleasure out of his responsibilities as aide. "The principal wants you."

"Well, I'll see you later," Troy jumped down from the counter and brushed out the wrinkles in his pants.

"Actually he wants both of you."

Chad shrugged and followed Troy out of the room. In the front office, the secretary waved them into the Principal's office. Jack Bolton and Ms. Allen sat in front of the Principal's desk. He was a big man that always had to loosen his belt when he sat down. He was had a doctrine in psychology and insisted that everyone call him Dr. Dupree., Jimmie, Jason and the rest of the team sat on the far wall near the window. Chad and Troy went to join Jason, and Zeke soon followed them into the room.

The principal was staring at Ms. Allen, having asked a question and wanting an answer. The young teacher was more concerned with the basketball team joining them. Troy kept his gaze from meeting hers by looking at his father, but he knew it when she stared at him.

"Ms. Allen, why did you think it was appropriate to ask a student this?"

"It was for the contest. I wanted to win." Ms. Allen's voice was soft, like it was when she was teaching.

"What would you win?"

"A date. With him."

Troy flinched, moving away from her in his seat. He turned his gaze to Jimmie and the rest of the team, the ones that had planned this game. He glared at them. Even if they did not intend for this to happen, they had not even asked his permission. His glare was deadly because he did not do so often.

"What!" His father's voice was a roar, and the Principal's secretary even peeked inside to make sure everything was alright. "Why do you think it's alright for you to date my son?"

"It's just a date. I wasn't going to have sex with him. What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with it? He's a boy, you're an adult. Plus you're his teacher. You could use your position as his teacher to exploit him!"

Troy couldn't look at his father, or glare at his team any more. He stared at his hands. Chad touched his shoulder for a second, but pulled back after a minute, just like his best friend, to say I'm here, but I'm not pushing.

"Please sit down Jack. Jack is right, it is okay for a teacher to support the school by buying into fundraisers, but that doesn't mean you should be allowed to win the prize in this instance. Furthermore, Ms. Allen you shouldn't have asked Troy a personal question like that. If it had been something about basketball or school that would be different. But to ask a student that, even for a contest, would be wrong," The Principal said.

"If you fire me, you better fire him for assaulting me too." Ms. Allen said.

"Is this what it's going to come to, Ms. Allen?"

"I don't want this teacher around my kid. Do what you have to." Mr. Bolton interrupted.

"Dad, stop!" Troy was not going to let his father get fired for this. He could live being Ms. Allen's student for the rest of his life as long as he didn't get his father fired.

The adults turned to look at Troy, and the basketball player, fumbled with his hands. "Can we just let it go? It was just a mistake."

"Can he be moved to a different class?" Jack turned to look at Dr. Dupree.

"That sounds fair actually; we'll do this right after the meeting." Dr. Dupree turned to Ms. Allen. "Please choose your words more careful next time. I am going to be watching you closely for the next year, Jack's reaction was justified slightly but yours was not." Ms. Allen didn't say a word; she stood up and walked out of the room, her heels clacking against the ground as she left.

"Now about this competition, it's not the first auction of sorts that this school has held, but I want you to be more careful next time boys. Also it's unfair to exploit just one player like this."

"But Troy is the most liked. We thought he would get the most money for the team." Jimmie was the only freshman on the team. He spoke without thinking, he could easily say this was another player's idea, but that was obviously not true.

"That maybe true, but it's unethical. I want at least half of the team needs to be in this competition or it needs to end now."

"Do my questions have to come on string cheese?" Chad asked, he had a grin on his face. Troy smiled; he was glad that Chad was volunteering with him.

"Jack, do you approve of this?" Dr. Dupree asked.

"It's fine as long as the winners are all in high school." Jack stood up from his chair and went to the door. "I'll get back to my class; I'll let you deal with them."

In the end, the Principal had Jimmie, Chad, Jason, Zeke and two of the seniors volunteered. They would sell candies, since the school had contracts with candy companies to do so, and they would still bundle the trivia with the food. Each boy was a separate candy so there was no confusion. Chad was happy that he got to be the tootsie pops, but Troy was still cheese. The competition would end in three weeks, and all the boys had to take the winners to dinner and a movie, and had to kiss their date on the cheek at the end of the night but nothing else was required.

Troy transferred out of their English class and into another at the end of the day, which meant that Troy's elective gym class was not available at fourth period, so Troy was stuck with Home Ec. or drama, Troy chose drama, it seemed easier.

The meeting was over before the end of the period and Troy was given a pass to his new class. He went into the drama room, but no one was there. So he headed to the stage, he knew the class usually ended up in there. The drama class was filled with the same students every year, there were a few new freshmen but no one transferred into the class. Everyone always attended the three school plays and one winter musical, it was a big thing in their school, but no outsiders auditioned.

Troy entered from a door to the left of the stage. On the stage, most of the students laid around, watching, or pretending to watch, two others act a skirt.

"Freeze!" Came from one of the students watch, Troy, tilted his head as the actors stood frozen. Ryan, stood from the group watching and walked over to the scene. He tapped one of the girl's shoulders, and took her spot when she sat down. Then the scene continued, but it was going in a different direction now, Ryan was teaching the other student how to play baseball, and the other student who had been a toddler in the last scene was having a hard time grasping the game.

Troy watched for a few more rounds until he realized that the students were making it up as they went along. That the new person would bring a new aspect to the scene and the old person would have to figure it out. He thought about calling freeze himself but the teacher stepped up and the scene ended.

"Thank you Mr. Evans you were excellent. Martha why don't you sit down." The teacher, a female, Troy didn't know her name but was familiar with who she was even outside of the classroom. "Since Mr. Evans decided to dominate the improve let's play Hats this time."

Ryan grimace. "Ms. Darbus please. I do not like that game."

She waved him off and asked the class who would like to join Ryan. The blond glared heatedly at every individual in the class. Troy noticed and this compelled him to step forward. "I'll try."

Ms. Darbus turned at him from over the rims of her glasses. She gave Troy a funny look, but stepped away from the blond.

"Do you even know the rules?" Ryan asked. Troy moved to stand next to him, shrugging his shoulders. Ryan handed Troy a cardboard box with a bunch of hats. "Pick one, we will do a scene and the object is to try to get the other actor's hat off his head. If you go for the hat and miss however then you lose, plus it has to work with the scene."

"We're doing a 20 second start, Mr. Evans," Ms. Darbus called from her chair behind the group of students.

"That means we can't try to remove each other's hats for 20 seconds, we just have to work on the scene."

Troy pulled out an old fashion cowboy hat; it didn't match Ryan red and white checker fedora. Ms. Darbus called the scene and they started.

"Are you the Sheriff?" Ryan's voice was up an octave, and he fanned his face with his hands. He batted his eyes, and leaned closer to Troy.

"No little lady." There was a small giggle from the class. "I run the saloon up the way."

Ryan smiled. "Oh that'd just be prefect. I just come in to town. And I was lookin' for a place that I might stay. I ain't from around here."

Troy fumbled he wasn't sure what to say next so he started with the obvious. "There is a vacancy in my Saloon, will you be staying a while?"

"Why yes, you see James McQueen, that's me old man. He up and got himself killed. It was just me on me lonesome up at James's ranch. So, I say to meself this is no place for a lady to live. So I sold the ranch and here I am. Ready to land meself a man." Ryan giggled and leaned closer until Ms. Darbus called the time, then Ryan pulled back and blushed.

Troy felt flushed too but he didn't think it was because of the scene. "Well-a," he blushed more when his voice broke. There were more giggles from the students. "I don't think it's very safe for a little lady like yourself to be staying alone."

"Well, I'm afraid I don't know anyone in town to stay with." Ryan fluttered his eyes. "I have money from the ranch to pay you for the board, and if I run out I can work for me stay."

"How is a sweet girl like you supposed to help me out in a Saloon?" Troy asked, getting more into character he was able not to blush so much. It was helpful that Ryan was such a talented actor.

"Well, I can dance! I love it. I'm great at it. And you know what sort of business that will bring to your costumers." Ryan fluttered his eyes some more. "You interested stud?"

"Sure am! I mean, I still don't think its right." Troy stomped his foot to stay his ground. "It's dangerous, what if one of the patron gets rowdy, follows you up to your room. It will be loud at night, the organ playing the men yelling. I will be in not position to make sure you're alright."

"Well, it's what must be done until I find meself a man."

"Do you understand that that rowdy man would to do you?" Troy stepped closer. "He would corner you, against a wall, or perhaps get on top of you while you're in bed. Then he'll rub his hands all over you." Troy followed suit. He turned to the audience and winked, as he rubbed his hands all over Ryan.

"And then what would he do," Ryan said. He sounded at little breathless and he pushed against Troy meaningfully.

"He'd start rubbing up against you." Troy began to rub, and Ryan began to pant. It was part of the role, the two were flirting heavily but being Gentleman and lady like, they were using a scenario to do so. "And he'd pulled down you're knickers!" Troy mimed pulling of Ryan's pants, they remained firm, but Ryan threw his head back and moaned loudly.

Troy stepped back, "You okay Ma'am."

Ryan flung himself into Troy's arm. "I am!" He rubbed against Troy dramatizing the motions to make it funnier.

Troy stilled Ryan by grabbing his shoulders. He leaned closers. "Do you know what he would do then?"

Ryan shook his head looking up at Troy, playing his part perfectly. Troy could almost see the curly blonde locks hanging over his shoulders, Ryan's old western dress. His chest felt hard against Troy's but it didn't make it unpleasant, just different. Troy leaned in, closer, looking at Ryan's lips. He stage whispered, "He would…take your hat." Troy grabbed Ryan's hat and twirled the blond away from him. The students in the class applauded and the bell rang.

Ms. Darbus told everyone to get their stuff from the classroom and go. She asked Troy to wait a minute, so he put the cowboy hat away and went over to Ms. Darbus. Ryan followed closely behind.

"Troy can I have my hat?" Ryan asked, he sounded a little annoyed. He was rubbing down his hair trying to tame it from the flamboyant way it stuck up in all directions.

Ms. Darbus interrupted, "While I enjoyed the performance from you, what are you doing in my class, and who are you?"

"I was transferred to another English class and transferred into your class because it was the only elective available this hour." Troy handed Ms. Darbus the note that the Principal's secretary had written.

"I see." Ms. Darbus looked at him after reading the note. "Troy, not many people transfer into my class. Do you think you have what it takes to do well in my class?"

"I think so. I haven't taken any acting classes but I'm confident and I'm willing to make a fool out of myself if it means getting something right."

"I can't grade you on a lot of things here; just improvement, effort and the papers that I make you do three times a semester. So if you promise me that you will continue, making a fool of yourself, then I'll let you stay." Ms. Darbus smiled softly.

Troy wasn't sure what to make of the grin but he promised his effort nonetheless. The teacher left him and with Ryan leaving the stage. Troy turned to Ryan ready to give his hat back, after a bit of teasing, it was lunch and he wouldn't be missed for a few minutes.

"She seems to like you, I'm surprised." Ryan tilted his head in one direction, his hair was still a mess, but it looked a little better now that Ryan had rubbed it enough.

"It must be my excellent acting skills."

Ryan scoffed. "I was going to say the same thing, but I didn't want it to go to your head."

Troy glared. Ryan smiled.

"Can I have my hat?"

"I was going to give it to you, but I think I'll make you wait until the end of the day."

"That's not funny Troy. I need that hat. I look dull with out it."

"Like anyone would notice." Troy's eyes widened after he spoke. He hadn't meant to say it but the banter between them was so quick that Troy forgot to think.

"What does that mean?"

"It means nothing. Really. Umm, here." Troy handed over the hat.

"Ryan!" Sharpay's shrill voice echoed from the stage door. She stomped over her heels clacking against the floor. "I'm waiting for you to go to lunch!"

"I thought you had a massage." Ryan turned his attention to Sharpay.

The girl rolled her eyes. "It's over. Come on. I need someone to wait in line for me while I do file my nails." Sharpay grabbed Ryan by the wrist and led him out of the room. Ryan resisted little, he was too big to drag, but Sharpay had other methods of making him come. "What's wrong with your hair?" Sharpay asked when they were out in the hall.

Troy smiled at the pocketed hat. He put it in his bag, wearing it would only cause more problems. But he was glad he still had a hold of it.


End file.
